LMT's February 2013 issue features our 2013 Dentist Survey conducted with Dental Economics. Our dentist-respondents speak out on...
...Why They Switch Labs
• Quality wasn't consistent.
• Cases returned with open margins.
• Crowns had high occlusion and open contacts.
• Inconvenient to work with due to the distance from my practice.
• I have switched from PFM crowns to PFZ or full zirconia crowns. My previous lab was not yet offering this service. Meanwhile, I was noticing that I was taking too much time to adjust my PFM crowns and was becoming increasingly frustrated. At the same time, the zirconia crowns from lab #2 were seating in a much shorter period of time and the esthetics were gorgeous. When I took into consideration the lower-priced lab fees for a zirconia-based crown, the decision to switch labs was a "no-brainer. "
• They hired new technicians and the work was not of the same quality.
• Technician/case manager left, leading to poor communication and inferior quality.
• I was receiving poor quality work and had to redo several cases.
• Remakes at unacceptably high levels due to fit and frequent porcelain breakage post-delivery.
• Suspected product substitution.
• A new lab owner leased space in the building I own and it is super convenient to work with him so I switched.
...Offshore Outsourcing
• Keep the jobs here in the U.S.
• Although I would rather not have my lab outsource my work, one lab that I work with sends crowns to China and it consistently sends back superior workmanship. Still, I only use them infrequently.
• I want to know what materials are being used.
• Control over the product is lost in outsourcing.
• I want to be able to communicate with the person who is actually doing the work.
• If the product is made from quality materials and offers quality fit, what's the difference?
• I want to know the person who is creating the restoration I'm placing.
• We need to support America.
• I would change labs if they outsourced out of the U.S.
• I'm concerned about the unknown quality and afraid of losing cases.
• If quality remains the same, outsourcing is fine.
• If I wanted it outsourced, I would go direct to the overseas lab.
Digital Impression-Taking Systems:
• It is the wave of the future! I've been very happy!
• Technology is still evolving.
• I fear it's costly and can it be as accurate as the real thing?
• Patients love it.
• Too expensive.
• OK if they are used to fabricate porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations or onlays.
• High learning curve up front followed by future pay-off.
• Not affordable and not proven successful.
• Excellent but still not fully developed.
• Seems to be next important thing to purchase.
• Awesome! It's the future! Minimizing chance of error and retakes.
• Not good for all situations.
• Too expensive for amortization based on my current materials cost and lab fees. Also, still get good physical impressions.
• Love it!
• Very nice but too costly at this time for my volume of C&B.
• They are the future. It will probably be about 10 years before I get one unless there is a major shift in the market towards digital impression systems.
Chairside CAD/CAM Technology:
• Not as good as traditional methods.
• The system at the dental school has a few issues. I have seen some porcelain units that were terrible...not anywhere close to acceptable.
• It's a lifestyle choice I am not willing to make at this point in my career.
• Seem good when used properly.
• It`s our future.
• I have worked with them. Not happy with them at this time. I will reconsider if the quality continues to improve.
• It's so cool!
• Not cost effective for my practice which is in a rural area.
• I will invest in one when you do not need an in-house technician to stain and detail.
• I am a dentist, not a lab technician.
• The restorations I have seen in my new patients that were done elsewhere look very poor.
• Excellent for all-ceramics.
• Of no use in my practice.
• Great. I'd love to have one, just can't afford it right now.
• Awesome but time consuming.
• Requires different way of thinking but once mastered, I see it as providing a much better service to patients.
• Island of porcelain in a sea of cement.
